Humorist Gina Barreca Among This Week's R.J. Julia Events

Write Stuff

April 25, 2013|By CAROLE GOLDBERG, Special To The Courant, The Hartford Courant

Author, humorist and UConn professor of English and feminist theory Gina Barreca, who is known for her sharp wit, will celebrate the re-release, with a new introduction, of her 1991 classic "They Used to Call Me Snow White... But I Drifted: Women's Strategic Use of Humor" (UTNE, $24.95), on Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison. Barreca has published more than 20 books, including "Make Mine a Double: Why Women Like Us Like to Drink (or Not)." Tickets are $5 and may be used towards the purchase of the book.

On Monday, April 29 at 7 p.m., a Connecticut Writers Night program will present a free talk by prize-winning Connecticut author Lois Mathieu, whose latest novel, "The Next to Last Drink" (CrateSpace, $15.95), is about an alcoholic architect who struggles to achieve sobriety.

On Tuesday, April 30 at 6 p.m., Daryl Capuano, author of "Motivate Your Son: Inspire Your Boy To Be Engaged In School, Excited For College, and Energized For Success" (Learning Consultants, $9.95) will speak. Tickets are $20, which includes a copy of the book.

The Second Annual Writers' Weekend will take place Friday through Sunday, April 26 to 28, at The Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford.

Author Anita Diamant will open the weekend Friday, April 26, at 7 p.m. in conversation with Julia Pistell, director of the Writing at the Mark Twain House program. On Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, there will be talks by noted authors and playwrights and sessions on writing and publishing. A panel with playwrights Theresa Rebeck and David Lindsay-Abaire, will take place Saturday, and author, filmmaker and editor Davy Rothbart will close the weekend on Sunday.

The cost is $150, which includes the Friday reception and talk, all Saturday and Sunday sessions, coffee and refreshments, a Saturday box lunch and a voucher good any time for a tour of the Mark Twain House. Registration: 860-280-3130.

Francelia Butler Autobiography

A free celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late University of Connecticut professor of children's literature, Francelia Butler, and the posthumous publication of her autobiography, will take place Sunday, April 28, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Dodd Research Center, 405 Babbidge Rd., on the university campus in Storrs.

Butler came to UConn in 1965 and taught children's literature, hosting such guest lecturers as falconers, puppeteers, troubadours, author Maurice Sendak, Dr. Benjamin Spock, and actress Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz." Butler established the journal Children's Literature and was a founding director of the Children's Literature Association.

Butler retired in 1992 and died in 1998. An edited version of her unpublished autobiography, "The Melted Refrigerator: Comedy and Combat in the Life of a Woman" (Mansfield Hollow Press, $24.95)" will be released at the party and available at the UConn Co-op.

The Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series presented by Manchester Community College continues Thursday, April 25, at MCC on Main, 903 Main St., Manchester.

At 7 p.m., poets Ted Deppe and Annie Deppe, who live in Ireland, will read at a celebration of National Poetry Month. Ted Deppe has published many collections and his work has appeared in Poetry, Harper's, Ploughshares, New England Review and other journals. Annie Deppe has published two poetry collections and her work has appeared in "The Forward Book of Poetry 2004," a collection of poetry published in the U.K. and Ireland.

Carole B. Shmurak, of Farmington, who writes the Susan Lombardi mystery series, will lead a free discussion of "The Flanders Panel" by Arturo Perez-Reverte on Wednesday, May 1, at 3 p.m. at a meeting of the Wallingford Mystery Group at Wallingford Public Library, 200 N. Main St., Wallingford Information: 203-265-6754.

Horgan At Avon And Southington

Denis Horgan, journalist, author and former Courant columnist and travel writer, will give two free talks about his latest book, "The Bangkok World" (Bluefoot Books, $19.95), a memoir of his experience as an Army officer during the war in Southeast Asia and editor of the "The Bangkok World," an English-language newspaper in Thailand.